Power distribution system



Sept. 18, 1951 c, BARKls 2,568,480

POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM 4 Sheets-Shget 1 Filed Aug. 14, 1946 my TOR. CHABLE E f kam- ATT HEY Sept. 18, 1951 (3. E. BARKIS 2,568,430

POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTE Filed Aug. 14, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 nn m: *i

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POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM Filed Aug. 14, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

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Filed Aug. 14, 1946 Patented Sept. 18, 1951 POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM CharlesE. Barkis, San Francisco, Calif.,.assignor, by .mesne assignments, to ;General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application August 14, 1946, 'SerialNo. 690,581

3. Claims. 1

My invention relates to overhead .bus bar-duct trolley systems especiallythose intended. for installation in positions exposed to the .actioncf the weather.

The main obj eat is. toprovide apparatus which .is capable. of withstanding. exposuretorain and .dustIas for instance in. shipyards and. otheroutdoor locations.

Another, object is to provide apparatus capable .of withstanding rough treatment.

Another object is to provide a trolley. type of branch take-off which is effective.

Another object is to provide apparatus which can be readily inspected, adjusted and repaired.

For this purpose I provide a special form of duct which encloses the bus bars and-thetracks which support trolley-like collectorscarrying the brushes for engaging the bus bars and to which the branch conductors are attached. Side portions of the duct are removable to facilitate access' to the collectors. and to thebus bars. The collectors are specially. constructed so as to iacilitate installation, inspection and replacement.

The accompanying drawings and the following specification showand describe a preferred construction embodying the invention.

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the construction of the bus bar duct embodying the invention and with a trolley take-ofi or collector in position.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the trolley collector in the position of insertion into or removal from the duct.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View on a smaller scale of the bus bar duct, parts being brokenaway.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the trolley take-off or collector device.

Fig. 5 is a side view and section of the trolley take-off device.

Fig. 6 is a detail end view of the branch conductor clamping device.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing parts of the trolley frame and attached parts.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary detail side View of one of the brush holders.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a brush holder on the plane of line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a plan view of the brush holder of Fig. 8.

Fig. 11 is a view of the underside of a duct, parts being broken away and showing a trolley collector in place.

Fig. 12 is an edge view of the same.

Fig. 13 is a top or plan view of the duct.

The bus bars l5, l5, l5 may be of any suitable guard 29'.

construction and each is mounted on an insulating block it carried by a cross bar l'l. iThese insulating blocks and cross bars are arranged. at

intervals along the length of the bus bars. and

are enclosedinthe duct. The duct itself consists of side bars l8, l9 of Z-shaped section, a top plate 19 and flanged side covers 29, 29. The upper 1 flange 2| .01" eachZ-bar and the'flangeiz vof each :side cover. are secured together and to the cross bars IT by bolts 23,.23. Theedges of the .top plate. iQmay be flanged over at.24 .tocover the ends of the cross bars and the edges of the flanges :mentioned. As the. duct will naturallybe longer .thananyone of thextop plate sections,.I provide transversesplice bars.25 to. connect the. ends .of

.adjacent sections of the top plates.

:TheZ-bars I8, [8 are made sufficiently. strong so thattheir lowerflanges 2%, 26 may serve as tracks for the rollers' or wheelsZl, 2'! of the. collector-or trolley take-off device. Thesidev covers 120, 29 need not be as heavy or strongas the Z-bars but theydo extend horizontally to form the bottom of the duct .and'are provided withspacedapart flanges 2%, 23 which thus provide a slot; for the assage of the branch conductors 29-andthe The side covers are formed in suitable lengths and at the locations where the joints in the bus bars occur I provide short cover. sec- TtiOIIS' 39 which are removable. to facilitate access to the connection between the bus bars and to .facilitate insertion and removal of the trolley col- ..lector as will be hereinafter described.

The-duct may be supported at .intervals throughout its length by means of suitable hangers-3l,.3|.

The trolley take-off or collecting device has angle bar sides 32, 32 constituting part of its frame and which are connected by transverse members 33 and 34. Transverse member 33 is detachably secured to the horizontal flanges of the opposite angle bars by bolts 35, 35 and member 34 is secured by pairs of bolts 38, 36. The conductor guard 29' is secured to the transverse member 34 and extends through the slot between the flanges 28, 28 of the cover members.

An insulating cross bar 31 is secured to the horizontal flanges of the angle bars by bolts 38, 38 and supports the brushes 39, 39, 39 which engage the under surface of the bus bars l5, l5, l5. Insulating barriers such as 4D, 40 are mounted in slots 41, 4| in the bar 31 alongside of and between the brushes and their supports. Conductor bars or-strips 42, 42 are secured by bolts 43 to the insulating cross bar 31 and on these bars are mounted the saddles 44, 44 which carry 3 the brush holders 45, 45. The brush holders are .arranged in pairs, each pair being supported by a pivot 46 and biased upwardly by a. spring 41 to press the brushes against the bus bars. To limit the movement of each brush holder when the trolley collector is removed from the duct, I provide a headed stud 48 which is secured to the base of the saddle 44 and the brush holder is provided with a keyhole-shaped opening 49 to facilitate assembly and disassembly. Each brush 39 has a flexible lead 53 and a terminal piece 5] which is secured to the conductor bar 42 on which the brush is mounted.

On the end of each conductor bar 42 is detachably mounted an attachment lug 52 of suitable form to which one of the conductors 29 is secured. In order to hold the conductors in position adjacent the attachment lugs I provide clamping members 54 and 55 held together and secured to the transverse member 34 by bolts 55, 56.

I also provide an insulating guard plate 51 which is removably secured to the cross bar 31 by screws 58.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the strain applied to the trolley collector when the conductors are pulled is taken up by the clamp on the transverse member 34 and not by the conductor bars 42. The brushes being mounted between the trolley rollers and being spring pressed are maintained in perfect contact with the bus bars.

The side bars 32, 32 with the rollers 21, and the transverse members 33 and 34 constitute the frame unit of the collector. The insulating cross bar 3'! with the attached conductor strips 42, 42, 42 and the brush holders and brushes constitute the brush assembly unit which is detachably carried by the collector frame.

Access may be had to a trolley collector by removing the short covers 30, 30 whereupon, if desired, the guard plate 57 may be removed.

By this construction, it is possible when the short side covers 30, 30 are removed to remove the entire brush assembly as a unit from the collector frame. For this purpose, the conductor lugs 52, 52 are detached from the conductor bars 42 and the bolts 38, 38 removed so as to disconnect the cross bar 31 and the attached brushes from the side bars 32, 32.

If it is desired to inspect or repair the brushes or other parts of the collector, it is a simple matter to remove the entire collector. For this purpose, the bolts 35, 35 and 38 along one side of the collector which secure the transverse bars 33, 34 and 31 of the collector to the adjacent angle bar 32 are removed and the remainder of the collector tilted as shown in Fig. 2 whereupon it may be removed. If necessary, the angle bar at the left in Fig. 2 when thus detached may be moved longitudinally along the track 26 to provide more clearance.

The construction will thus be seen to be simple, rugged and protected to a maximum degree from interference or damageand yet capable of convenient inspection and repair.

The trolley construction is claimed in my application Serial Number 81,452 filed March 15, 1949.

I claim:

1. A distribution duct comprising a top plate, side members of substantially Z-shaped crosssection having feet secured to the edges of the top plate and providing inwardly projecting supporting tracks for the rollers of a trolley collector, means arranged at intervals along the top plate for supporting bus bars and cover sections having flanges secured to the edges of the top plate and. extending beneath the top plate and the side members but leaving a slot for the passage of distribution conductors.

2. A distribution duct comprising a top plate, side bars of substantially Z-shaped cross-section having feet secured to the top plate and having inwardly projecting supporting tracks for the rollers of a trolle collector, cross bars arranged at intervals along the top plate supporting bus bars and cover sections removably secured to the edges of the top plate and to the side bars and extending beneath the top plate and the side bars but leaving a slot for the passage of flexible distribution conductors.

3. A distribution duct comprising a top plate, side bars of Z-shaped cross section secured to the top plate and having inwardly projecting supporting tracks for the rollers of a trolley collector, bus bars supported at intervals beneath the top plate and cover sections having flanges removably secured to the edges of the top plate and to the side bars and extending beneath the top plate and the side bars.

CHARLES E. BARKIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,036,265 Frank et a1 Apr. '7, 1936 2,304,924 Jackson et a1. Dec. 15, 1942 2,322,640 Jackson et al June 22, 1943 2,443,387 Harris June 15, 1948 

